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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday April 19 2017, @07:11PM   Printer-friendly

Meanwhile, a report from Scottish Renewables suggests that onshore wind farms could compete subsidy-free in the UK, as long as they were allowed to take part in the country's competitive auction process. (Known as contracts for difference, or CfD, the competitive auction process does not currently include onshore wind.)

Finally, while the loss of incentives and tax credits might have less impact than it once did—thanks to ongoing cost reduction and technological improvement—we are right to be concerned that political obstructionists can still do a lot of damage to the future of renewables. (The exclusion of wind from the aforementioned CfD process in the UK is one example.) But here too, there are signs of progress—because oil giant Shell is lobbying for the Dutch government to quadruple its offshore wind target for 2030 to an installed capacity of a whopping 20 gigawatts (GW). As Shell joins the likes of Statoil—which recently quit tar sands in favor of offshore wind—the shift of political and lobbying power starts to shift.

More signs that the pivot point in the energy economy is upon us.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday April 19 2017, @08:08PM (4 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 19 2017, @08:08PM (#496520) Journal

    As for storage of energy at small scale to be transmitted and handled with ease, it seems to me that electric car battery tech is improving continuously.

    At some point eliminate most fossil fuel use with electric vehicles once there is a sufficiently developed charging infrastructure. Sort of like having fossil fuel stations on every street corner.

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday April 19 2017, @08:34PM (3 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 19 2017, @08:34PM (#496531)

    I was into sailing when I was younger and the concept of solar panel powering a boat trolling motor is tantalizingly close to working but not quite there technologically.

    Just like another doubling of power density and I could run an electric cruising boat across the ocean.

    Its not entirely trivial because seawater destroys everything metallic and everything electronic so the odds of getting my dumb ass stranded in the middle of the pacific are excellent, and there are center of gravity issues with heavy panels, etc.

    But... just a little more work on efficiency and I could build an electric cruising boat that operates by solar panels not sailcloth and wind.

    In practice I'd end up doing both. At night I could get maybe 6 knots off the sails, on a windless sunny day I could get maybe 6 knots, on a windy sunny day who knows at least 7 knots maybe 8.

    There are a lot of sailboats with 100 watts of solar panels because the panels output more power and require less weight and maintenance than a generator, but they're using their panel to run the radar or AIS transmitter or the skipper is watching pr0n or its running the lights at night, its not for main engine drive which takes a couple HP.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday April 19 2017, @09:43PM (1 child)

      by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday April 19 2017, @09:43PM (#496570)

      Do you have LOTS of cash?
      If yes, the market already has anwsers: http://www.solarwave-yachts.com/english/yachts/solarwave-64-sailor/ [solarwave-yachts.com]

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 19 2017, @11:27PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 19 2017, @11:27PM (#496605)

        The-market already-has answers, I-think-you-must-mean.

    • (Score: 2) by tibman on Wednesday April 19 2017, @09:50PM

      by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 19 2017, @09:50PM (#496573)

      There are a lot of sailboats with 100 watts of solar panels because the panels output more power and require less weight and maintenance than a generator

      Seen similar things with RVs. It's a really cool conversion. Makes me want a solar powered shed or something.

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